Detective Comics Vol 1 980
"Batmen Eternal" part five! The worst possible future for Gotham City has been locked into place, and there's nothing Batman can do to stop it...until Stephanie Brown and Cassandra Cain catch a glimpse of something they never would have thought possible! Summary of Stephness: As Batwoman draws a Brother Eye-controlled Tim's attention, Steph uses her drones to make her team - Batman and Cass - invisible to Brother Eye's detection software in his Belfry 2.0. Steph is still very angry with Batman, seeing every comment as an assumption of her failure. She still expresses trust in Cass, however. As Jacob Kane coordinates with Bruce, Steph lets the team know that her drones can't keep them safe in the heart of the tower, and Batman says they'll have to move fast. In the heart of the Belfry 2.0, Steph notices supercomputers powerful enough to run a solar system sized internet. She recognizes Tim from the Future's coding quirks, and tries to turn off the connection between Tim and Brother Eye. However, Brother Eye begins to attempt to play mind games with Steph, as Batman and Cass act as bodyguards against a mind controlled Batwing and Azrael. Brother Eye taunts Spoiler that she and Orphan are unwanted, the least regarded and castoff from the Batfamily. Far from phasing her, Steph already knows this, but Eye tells her that she doesn't even know what's been taken from her in this timeline. The computer shows them images of both girls as Batgirls, and says they are pale shadows of what they were meant to become. Steph realizes that Brother Eye is showing her the future from Tim's alternate timeline - a future where she and Cass were accepted by the Batfamily. Cass was no Orphan, but family, and she sees herself wearing the Bat, training with Oracle. Steph sees herself not only as Batgirl, but also Robin, swinging in Gotham alongside Batman with a smile on her face. Brother Eye sees Steph's tears and thinks she's crushed by what she's lost, by the knowledge that she's second rate and will never measure up. Instead, Steph begins laughing and embraces Cass. She then executes part of her plan on the computer, causing serious problems with Brother Eye and Ulysses Armstrong's plans. She declares that what Eye meant to hurt her only made her realize that she isn't a failure - she is someone who is worthy of becoming Robin and Batgirl, and will use the history in this alternate timeline to beat Brother Eye's ass into the ground. Behind the Scenes: Artist Scot Eaton clearly did some solid research in Cass's Batgirl series, referencing several issues directly, particularly Batgirl #53, with Steph's appearance as Robin, though the legs of the image were changed significantly, Steph's head and torso are nearly identical to Dave Ross's pencils. Other Formats/Collected In: Digital Comic Book Detective Comics: Batmen Eternal (Vol. 7) TPB Variant Covers Image: Detective_Comics_980B_Cover.jpg| Detective Comics #980B Variant Cover by Rafael Albuquerque Category:Covers Category:Appearances Category:Spoiler Category:Rebirth Category:Steph!Robin Category:Batgirl